The Fastest Cars You Can Buy

The 65 miles per hour speed limit on most of America’s freeways doesn’t keep us from fantasizing about cars capable of traveling three times that speed. The astronomical price tags attached to them aren’t having much of an effect, either.

AxleGeeks, a vehicle data site that’s part of the Graphiq network, compiled a list of the 15 fastest cars available to customers using data from Edmunds.com. Only street legal base models were considered for the list — no manufacturer upgrades and no aftermarket modifications. We also excluded limited production one-off performance models where fewer than 100 models were built, such as the Lamborghini Veneno (only three were sold to customers), due to their exclusivity.

Ties were broken first by 0-60 time, then by engine displacement and finally by curb weight.

#15. 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe

Though it has the fewest number of cylinders of any car on this list, the Porsche 911 Turbo S packs a punch. Its power is complemented by handling features such as rear-wheel steering, making it nimble as well. The Turbo S is also the cheapest (or should we say least expensive) car on this list.

#13. 2015 McLaren 650S Spider

Remarkably, the 650S Spider is only 88 lbs. heavier than the coupe version. The convertible hardtop takes 17 seconds to go up or down, but if you're impatient, you can opt to lower the rear window and let some extra engine noise in just the same.

#12. 2015 McLaren 650S Coupe

The 650S is the older brother of McLaren's first production car, the MP4-12C. The two cars share the majority of their parts (75 percent) but the 650S has more power and sacrifices some of the MP4-12C's ride quality for sharper handling.

#11. 2012 Ferrari FF

The FF is the first and only production Ferrari with all-wheel drive. Ferrari's specially designed drivetrain features two transmissions, one in front and one in back, favoring the rear. A maximum of 20 percent of available torque is sent to the front wheels, maintaining Ferrari's characteristic rear-wheel-drive handling. The FF also features seating for four.

#10. 2011 Ferrrari 599 GTO

The Ferrari 599 is named after its total engine displacement, 5999 cc. Built on the 599 GTB chassis, the 599 GTO is a lighter, more powerful version of the car that features improvements from the track-only version of the car, the 599XX.

#9. 2015 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The Ferrari F12 is the successor of the 599, and Ferrari's fastest unlimited production road car ever. Unlike Ferrari's more hardcore vehicles, the F12 is intended to be a powerful yet comfortable grand tourer that can be driven daily.

#8. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche limited the production of its plug-in hybrid supercar to just 918 units, all of which have been sold. The 918's 887 system horsepower is split between its 608 horsepower V-8 and 127 horsepower electric motor. The 918 currently holds the track record for production cars at the Nurburgring, clocking in at 6:57.

#7. 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari

The Ferrari LaFerrari is the successor to the Enzo. It is also Ferrari's horse in the hybrid-supercar race. The LaFerrari's powertrain derives 789 horsepower from its naturally aspirated V-12 and 161 horsepower from its electric motor.

#5. 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

Replacing the Murcielago as Lamborghini's flagship V-12 model, the Aventador is almost 600 lbs. lighter and has 128 more horsepower than its older brother. In Lamborghini tradition, the car is named after a famous fighting bull.

#4. 2015 McLaren P1

The McLaren P1 is the successor to the McLaren F1, which set the record for fastest production car in 1998 reaching 231 mph. The P1's claim to fame is its plug-in hybrid drivetrain; it boasts a 727 horsepower V-8 coupled with a 177 horsepower electric motor powering the rear wheels.

#3. 2003 Ferrari Enzo

The F1 inspired Ferrari Enzo pays homage to the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. Only 400 were built. Due to the heritage the car represents and its rarity, they have sold at auction for upwards of $2,500,000.

#1. 2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4

The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest production car in the world. Its W-16 engine is quad-turbocharged and propels the car from 0 to 200 mph in just 22 seconds — quicker than microwaving a slice of pizza.

Related Slideshow: 7 Movies With Iconic Hollywood Star Cars

See seven films that featured important and iconic cars, or "star cars."

Vacation

Who can forget Clark Griswold aka Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation, going to pick up his new “sports wagon” only to be forced to accept the Wagon Queen Family Truckster with amazing wood paneling. It was created just for this film and was based on a 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire which was equally embarrassing to drive. And, to add insult to injury, Clark had to try and be cool in this car when Christie Brinkely drove by in her Ferrari 308GTS.

Mad Max

This may not really be underrated as a picture car but because Mel Gibson soared to stardom after this film, it’s easy to forget the machine that helped make it happen. The 1973 XB GT Ford Falcon was simply, bad ass. This car never made it to the U.S. and was featured in the Australian film with a few modifications. The regular XB GT had a 351-cid V8, but for Mad Max the car creators fattened up the tires, gave it a new front nose and flares, and added a supercharger that stuck out of the hood. Despite the fact that the supercharger wasn’t real, it doesn’t diminish the cool factor.

Death Proof

Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 homage to the classic ‘70’s exploitation movies and muscle cars was modestly received, but for car geeks and car chase fans, it was awesome. Stuntman Mike, played by Kurt Russell, drove two classic movie cars in his psychopathic attempt to rid the roads of all hot women. His “death proof” cars were a 1971 Chevrolet Nova SS 396 that Rose McGowan’s character found out wasn’t “death proof” for the passenger. After he dispatched the first batch of women, he finds his next car, a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 500. Unfortunately for Stuntman Mike, he was no match for the “Vanishing Point” 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.

Gumball Rally

This 1976 movie was the inspiration to other coast to coast racing movies like Cannonball and Cannonball Run. Don’t hold that against it. This film featured some great fun, great cars and the tagline for every boy racer that summer, “GUMBALL." Michael Sarrazin played a rich, bored businessman. He sends word to his fellow racers via a gumball that the race is on from New York to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The movie featured a young, funny Rau’l Julia who was the professional Ferrari driver and uttered the perfect car racer line as he rips off the rear view mirror, “what is behind me is not important.” Some of the beautiful cars making the cross country trip were an AC Cobra, Ferrari Daytona and Gary Busey behind the wheel in a Camaro Z-28.

Risky Business

Larry Brown was the West Coast PR manager for VW/Porsche Audi in the early 80’s when a director came to him with a great script idea and wanted to use a Porsche for his movie Risky Business. Brown read the script and then thought about his conservative German bosses and how they would react to a high school kid running a brothel out of his parent’s home when they were out of town. And, oh by the way, dumping a 928 into Lake Michigan. He said he had to pass. Fortunately for us and Porsche, the director had only the Porsche 928 in mind for the star car and found one of his own. Tom Cruise, who had never driven a stick, learned to drive on the Porsche. While the 928 now ranks as one of the least interesting Porsches made, this film made it cool for a while. Who can forget Joel, Lana and Miles escaping from Guido the Killer Pimp and puling up to the curb and Cruise uttering the great Porsche marketing slogan, “Porsche, there is no substitute.” That is probably only matched when, after the cars swim in the lake, the car door is opened at the dealership and the shop manager asks, “so, who’s the U Boat commander” This was perfect proof that the right car can help make a movie.

To Live and Die in LA

William Friedkin’s 1985 stylish drama with young William Petersen and Willam Dafoe showcased a chase scene on and off the freeways of LA and rivals that of Bullitt. The car Petersen drove to escape his pursuers was a 1985 Checy Impala F41. It had been rented directly from the LAPD. The car sequence was shot in six weeks and apparently, Fridkin wasn’t so sure of its success and shot it last so that if anything happened to the actors, the balance of the movie was in the can.

The Hangover

The repetitious saying, “what happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” didn’t prove true for the beautiful 1965 Mercedes Benz 220SE Convertible that Bradley Cooper and crew take to Vegas in the first, and best, Hangover film. This was the perfect choice for classic cars for the screws ups to take on their bender weekend. During the making of the film, three convertibles were used to make the film and a couple of coupes were cut up and pieced together to look like the classic Mercedes so no fears on its destruction. It was just movie magic.